I Hear A Symphony
by Ophelia Lokisdottir
Summary: When Meredith Davis discovers her mutant ability, a vicious police force is there to whisk her away. Rescue is just the first step for the X-Men- these menacing police could mean danger for the students of the Institute and mutants around the country. XME-verse, with a character from the comics.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! If this story looks somewhat familiar, it's a re-issue/re-vamp of a recent story of mine called Chromatic. I just didn't like it and I'm much more satisfied with how this is turning out. I hope you guys like it!**

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><p>Meredith adjusted her messenger bag and began to pick up her pace as she checked the time.<p>

_Damn_. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry and her mother was a stickler for punctuality. The bag bumped against her hip as she trotted down the street. The streetlights began turning on as dusk began to fall. She hadn't realized how long she'd been at the library. Shelving books made the time blend into one long trip with a cart. Plus there'd been a really cute boy sitting in the teen section and she had spent quite a bit of time wandering near him, trying to look busy.

There weren't too many people out- a brisk chill had settled in the air lately, reducing the time people spent outside. There was a man leaning against a storefront a block ahead, but that was it. He appeared to be watching her... Meredith locked her gaze on the stop sign at the end of the block, ignoring the man.

"What's your hurry, darling?" he drawled as she neared. Meredith didn't respond and hurried past him. "Not feeling chatty?" he said from behind her. She heard happy steps begin to follow her, faster than her pace. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she whirled around, knocking it away.

"Don't _touch_ me," she said as she began walking backwards down the street, away from the stranger. He strolled after her.

"I just want something to warm me up on this chilly night," he said. Meredith's lip curled.

"Creep," she said, turning to run.

She was violently jerked back by the strap of her bag. While she was off-balance, the man shoved her into a wall, digging a forearm into her throat.

Meredith twisted, yanking the man's arm away and punching his hand into the bricks behind her. He yelped and grabbed at her wrist with her other hand, using his height advantage to pull her arm into the air and hold her on her toes. She swatted at him with her other hand, but he stayed out of range

As she tried one last desperate grab, she got a rather odd result. There was a massive rumbling sound that Meredith recognized from being in the school band- a sound like their bass drum being struck, only a hundred times louder. The man was tossed backward, rolling into the street. The windows in the shops around her shattered simultaneously. Trash cans were sent flying- but Meredith was unharmed. She clutched her hands to her chest, the thundering dying away. Her hands were tingling strangely.

What had that been? She had made the sound, that much was obvious. The deep rumbling echoed around the street as the man struggled to his hands and knees. Meredith turned and ran. She ran faster than she'd ever run in her life. She ignored traffic lights, racing between cars, ignoring the angry yells and honks of the drivers. She paid no attention to where she was running- the only thought in her mind was to _get away_.

Finally, she was forced to stop and catch her breath. She looked around. Her breath misted slightly in the air with each pant.

She was in a residential neighborhood. Lights were on in many the windows, and she began walking down the sidewalk, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. A single new though began slithering around her mind as she walked, echoing and re-echoing in time with her footfalls.

_You're a mutant. You know it. Mutant. Mutant. Mutant. MUTANT._ She clamped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the word shrieking in her mind.

A thudding sound began growing louder, making its way under her hands. She looked up and removed her hands from her ears. A circle of light was sweeping across the street a block ahead of her, its source a dark helicopter with the letters MRD emblazoned on the side. She had no idea what it stood for, but the fact that it happened to be here at the same time as her was a very bad sign. Sirens were wailing in the distance and Meredith ducked under a tree on the boulevard, pressing her back to the trunk on the side opposite the street. She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding as the circle of light swept past her hiding spot. She darted out from behind the tree, running in the opposite direction of the chopper. She came to the top of a small hill only to be caught in the headlights of a large armored truck.

Stupidly, like a deer, she froze on the sidewalk.

An amplified voice echoed from the truck. "Do not move, mutant! Place your hands behind your head and get on your knees. Do not attempt use of your powers." Shaking, Meredith complied, kneeling down. The cold of the pavement seeped through her jeans and chilled her knees. She couldn't see past the bright headlights, but there was the sound of running boots and several figures appeared out of the light. A man grabbed her arms and yanked them down behind her back. Something tightened around her wrists. Two soldiers grabbed her biceps, pulling her to her feet.

"Please, I'm not dangerous! I won't hurt anyone!" she sobbed, twisting in their grip. There was a strange high-pitched trilling, the piercing sound increasing in volume and pitch every second. A flute? No, higher than that- a piccolo. Many of the people around her were hunched over, hands clamped over their ears.

"Someone put her out! She's doing it," someone ordered.

"I swear, I can't control it!" Meredith screamed. There was a sting in her neck and she struggled as a leaden feeling coursed through her limbs. Her legs suddenly refused to support her weight and she dropped, supported only by the soldiers' grips on her arms. She was dragged to the back of the truck and tossed unceremoniously into the rear compartment. With what little control over her body remained, she rolled over as the doors were slammed shut and she was plunged into pitch darkness. She felt the truck rumble to life beneath her and tried in vain to at least sit up.

She had no sense of time in the dark- whatever they had injected her with had sent her spiraling into a semi-conscious haze, but at some point a commotion began reaching her ears and she struggled to open her eyes. Not that it mattered, as she was still in the back of the truck. Suddenly, the doors swung open and her eyes were assaulted by bright light. Someone pulled her to her feet as she squinted into the brightness. She stumbled as she was pushed from the truck. As her eyes adjusted, she looked up to see a building looming in front of her. It wasn't terribly tall, but it stretched far to either side of her. She glanced around, trying to take in her surroundings. She was in a large courtyard-type area, with boxes stacked around the perimeter of the walled yard. All the boxes were stamped with the same three letters as the helicopter and the truck- MRD. The walls themselves looked at least ten or fifteen feet tall, with towers placed every couple hundred feet or so. Spotlights perched along the wall provided the light that had blinded her. She was being led toward a tall opening in the wall of the building. Many armed officers stood around them, weapons trained on her. As she was led through the door, a thick wall began sliding down behind them, sealing off the exit. Pure fear shot through Meredith, cutting through the drug-induced haze.

_No! Please, someone help me!_ She struggled in the soldiers' grip, begging internally for her strange powers to do something again. There was a weak rumbling bass drum sound, but it was nothing compared to what she had produced earlier. The men holding her were barely fazed, and one backhanded Meredith in the side of the head. She staggered, nearly passing out again. The men half-marched, half-dragged her down a hallway lined with glass-fronted cells. They were all empty, except for one. A crumpled form lay on the floor. It was a boy, about her age. He was shirtless and his pants were tattered. His torso was littered with bruises, but Meredith barely noticed any of that because of his most stunning feature. A pair of beautiful red wings arched from his shoulder blades. One was bent at an awkward angle, and Meredith's stomach clenched at what might have happened to him to do that. The soldiers stopped at the cell opposite the winged boy's. The glass front retracted into the ceiling. Meredith felt the grip on one of her arms release momentarily before another took its place. The cuffs moved slightly and then opened, but Meredith barely had time to relish the freedom before one of the men gave her a violent shove in the small of her back and sent her tumbling to the floor of the cell. The glass front slid into place.

The soldiers chuckled as they walked away.

"Two muties in one week. At this rate, the place'll be full by Christmas."

Meredith closed her eyes. She was trapped.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The bald man gasped and started in his wheelchair.

"What's wrong, Charles?" asked the white-haired woman sitting next to him, turning her attention from the plane's dash to him.

"I just felt...fear. Someone's fear was powerful enough that it created a psychic connection." The door to the cockpit slid open. A teenaged girl with striking red hair stood in the doorway.

"Professor, did you-"

Charles nodded. "Yes, Jean, I did." He reached under the dash and pulled out a silver helmet. He placed it on his head and closed his eyes.

"She's moved. The girl I sensed earlier. A few hundred miles west, bizarrely. Her presence is weaker, like something is shielding it." He opened his eyes. "She's in Colorado. In the mountains."

"How did she get there so fast?" the redhead asked.

"I don't know, but I felt the same fear alongside her mutant presence. She's in trouble and we must help her."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

As the peaks of the Rocky Mountains came into view, their position only visible by where they blocked out the bright stars and blue-black sky, Jean returned to the cockpit.

"Professor, how are we going to find her in all of this?" She gestured out the front window. "Cerebro can't give us an exact location." The professor had his eyes closed and fingers pressed to his temples.

"I know. I'm trying to communicate telepathically with her. If she can tell us where she is-" He was interrupted by something flying past the nose of the plane, flames spurting from its tail end.

"We're under attack!" shouted Storm. Jean raced from the cockpit and out into the main area of the jet. She pressed a button that opened the jet's hatch and cautiously climbed out onto the platform. She scanned the area below them before closing her eyes and placing one hand on her temple in a similar manner to the professor. After a moment, she reentered the jet.

"Professor, there's some sort of huge building down there and I think she's in there!" The professor wheeled himself out of the cockpit.

"We are not prepared to engage whoever is down there. We need to return to the mansion and bring a team. Storm, save these coordinates. We must hurry. Her life could be in danger in there."

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><p><strong>So, there it is! I don't know how many people saw the first version of this story, but I like it much better, as I said. The next chapter will be up soon! Let me know what you thought!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**After receiving a review from one gg180000, it was brought to my attention that the winged boy I described in the previous chapter (meant to be an OC) was awfully similar to Joshua Guthrie, so I decided to change it to Josh. It works out quite well because it just so happens that Josh's brother, Sam, is a student at the Institute. I made a very minor edit in the previous chapter in the description of his wings, so they sounded more like Josh's and less like what I described.**

**Also, I played with the Guthries' ages a bit to make things work for me. Nothing drastic.**

**With that out of the way, I don't own anything in the story except the plot and Meredith. Enjoy chapter 2!**

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><p>Meredith scrambled up from the cold floor, staggering off-balance over to the glass wall. She pounded her fists against it.<p>

"Wait, please!" she cried after the retreating backs of the MRD officers. "Please..." she said again, her voice breaking. Her eyes prickled and she could feel her bottom lip trembling slightly. She leaned against the glass and slid down to huddle on the floor.

"It's no use," said a voice from behind her. She started, banging her head on the wall. She clutched it as she scrambled around. The winged boy was kneeling on the floor of his cell- definitely not unconscious. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," he said. "I've found it's best to...play dead when the guards come around." A soft southern drawl tugged at his vowels.

"What is this place?" she asked. The boy sat back into a cross-legged position.

"As far as I can figure, it's some sort of research facility for the MRD- the Mutant Response Division. They're a group that's sprung up in the last few months to deal with the mutant hysteria after what happened with those pyramids that appeared." Meredith remembered the news reports from a few months prior. There had not been many details, but a definite one was that mutants had been involved on both sides. She swallowed.

"And what sort of...tests happen here?" Her eyes traced the bruises on the boy's torso, the angle of his bent wing. The boy glanced down, following her gaze.

"I didn't get these from the tests, if that's what you're thinking. I didn't really...come quietly. I knocked out a few officers when they showed up to take me and almost flew away, but I wasn't really used to my wings and I didn't make it very high before they launched some sort of net thing and dropped me. My wings broke my fall, but one kind of...broke. I've only been here a couple days. They haven't done any tests yet and they ignore you a bit more if you play like you're down." He tilted his head like he had realized something.

"I'm Josh, by the way. Josh Guthrie. But everyone calls me Jay."

"Meredith Davis," Meredith replied. "Learned anything else?"

"This place is pretty empty except for when they bring in meals. They kind of leave me- us, now, I guess- alone," said Jay. He shifted position. "To tell you the truth, for being a mutant-catching police force, I think they're kind of scared."

Meredith was skeptical.

"They just...leave us? They don't pay any attention to us?" Jay shrugged, then winced as his broken wing fluttered.

"This facility is a fortress- they don't really think we're going to make an escape attempt. Plus, I think they're kind of short-staffed. I see the same guards every time people bring food."

Meredith leaned against the thin bed frame that protruded from the wall. She was about to let the conversation die down but something Jay had said piqued her curiosity. "So...you said you've only had your wings for a few days? Can I ask, you know...how they showed up? Was it all at once or did the grow gradually?" Jay's unbroken wing dipped down over his shoulder and the teenager combed his fingers through the scarlet feathers absentmindedly. His hair was a slightly muted version of the color.

"Yeah, they just kind of sprouted. My dad died a while back and the other day was the anniversary of his death. My family and I were visiting his grave and I just...it just hits me really hard every year, and this year I guess it triggered something. I felt this pain in my shoulder blades, and my wings just kind of...grew. Shirt ripped and everything. Someone else at the cemetery freaked out and called the cops, and they showed up before we realized anyone had done it." He released his wing. "Mutant powers aren't anything new to my family. My older brother and sister are mutants too, but my brother's off at some school for mutants and my sister's power isn't physically visible, so the MRD just took me."

"I'm sorry about your dad," Meredith said quietly. Jay nodded.

"Thanks. Um...what about you? What's your thing? You look normal- how'd the MRD find you?"

So Meredith recounted the events leading up to her capture. "I'm sure it was kind of like yours- someone noticed a shockwave destroying a block of stores- not too hard to miss. Or the creep that tried to..." She shuddered. "Ugh. He probably saw which way I ran." She straightened up as a thought struck her. "Oh my god, my parents don't know what happened. They must be going crazy." Jay sighed.

"Probably, but there isn't anything you can do here." Meredith sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest as the teens let the conversation fade.

An hour or so later, a pained grunt from Jay's cell drew Meredith from her daze. She glanced over. Jay was kneeling, shoulders hunched forward awkwardly. He was clasping his left shoulder, where the broken wing twitched. He gasped as, with a nasty-sounding pop, the wing jumped back into alignment. The bruises on his torso and arms faded from purple and blue to yellow and finally vanished altogether. He sighed as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"What was that?" Meredith asked in wonder. Jay shrugged.

"I...have no idea. But..." His wings flapped once. "It's not broken anymore."

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Meredith had no sense of time, but it had to been at least five or six hours later when the automatic doors slid open and someone came striding down the hallway. She and Jay heard the footsteps before they saw the person, but Meredith disliked them from the first footfall. The steps were extraordinarily constant, and faster than the average stroll. They tapped authoritatively. A man came into view, and Meredith disliked him even more. He looked like a businessman. Expensive suit, coiffed dark hair going gray at the temples, body position that positively screamed "I can destroy you without lifting a finger." He came to a halt between their cells, peering at each of them in turn. Meredith scowled at the scrutiny, despising the under-a-microscope feeling he gave her. His face was stern, almost disapproving. He began to speak, his words crisp.

"Six hours ago, an unidentified plane approached this facility. We do not know who was on board, but we picked up three mutant signatures. Either they were lucky...or they were searching for something." His turned his head to look at Meredith. "It certainly is odd that you arrived less than an hour before they approached this facility."

"Listen, I don't know who you are or what you want, but I-" Meredith began.

"Silence." The man did not raise his voice but Meredith stopped talking. "I have little doubt they will return to investigate. And when they do, you two will be waiting for them." He smiled.

That smile frightened Meredith more than the facility itself.

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The jet flew low. The trees bent underneath it as it flashed over them.

"I don't like this, Charles," growled the dark-haired man in the co-pilot's seat. "What's going to stop them from knocking us from the sky this time? You told us that their weapons could take out the Blackbird with no problem." The professor steepled his fingers.

"You are correct, Logan. But we won't be approaching from the air this time. We'll set down a mile or so from the facility and approach on foot." He wheeled his chair out from the cockpit, sitting at the head of the rows of double seats, addressing the people who filled them.

"This is a delicate matter. We don't know who or what occupies this facility, and on top of that, the life of a mutant is in danger inside. We must proceed with caution and good judgement." His gaze shifted to the blond boy sitting in the third row. "Sam, I'm pleased with your progress in training. Can I expect the same work on this mission?" Sam nodded emphatically.

"Touchdown in one minute, Charles," said Logan from the cockpit. The professor turned himself around and returned his chair to the pilot's spot in front of the dash.

"Caution and good judgement," he repeated.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Logan glanced back at the people gathered around him. Magneto had been training the newer recruits well- so well that the elder ones had been chosen as the mission team. Sunspot, Cannonball, Iceman, Berseker, and Magma stood in a line. Wolverine tipped his head back and took a deep sniff.

"I can't smell anyone outside right now. This practically screams trap." Next to him, Xavier nodded.

"We cannot let that deter us. We must proceed." He looked at the man on Logan's other side.

"Magnus, will you do the honors?" Magneto nodded, raising his hands. The gate shuddered, then ripped itself from its track, soaring away.

"Go!" he said. The five teenagers raced forward, most of them activating their powers as they ran. Logan followed behind them, and Magneto and Xavier brought up the rear. They all expected opponents to come pouring out of the doors, but the courtyard was empty and silent.

Which is why the beating wings drew everyone's attention right away. They all whirled to face the descending figure. It swept low, the wings knocking several of them to the ground. Just as the X-Men picked themselves up, they were assaulted by a high-pitched trilling that sent many of them to their knees, clutching their ears. The perpetrator was a girl who couldn't have been more than fifteen, who'd appeared during the distraction of the aerial attack. The flying figure circled around, preparing for another strike.

As they swooped down, what could only be described as a flight stumble occurred. Their wings stopped flapping for a moment and they landed hard.

"SAM!" they shrieked over the noise, which died away when the girl noticed them on the ground. Sam turned toward them. His eyes widened and he broke into a sprint.

"Jay!" he yelled, crashing into his brother and tackling him to the ground in a tangle of limbs and wings. Eventually, the boys broke the hug and Sam helped his brother to his feet, taking in every detail of the younger boy, including the metallic ring encircling his neck and the loops around his wrists and ankles

The sound girl was approaching, with matching loops adorning her limbs.

"Jay!" Her voice was tinged with fear as her hand went to her neck. A look of horror dawned on Jay's face and he jumped away from his brother.

Moments later, he and the girl let out matching screams as the collars sparked, sending electricity crackling across their bodies. The teens shuddered, swayed, then crumpled to the ground as the electricity finally shut off. Wisps of smoke rose from the girl's hair and Jay's wings.

"Well, that was a pity," said a voice. All the X-Men looked up as one. The speaker was a man in a business suit. He was surrounded by soldiers holding guns. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to that." He raised a hand leisurely and the soldiers opened fire.

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><p><strong>So there it is. I love bringing in more obscure characters- there's so much to explore and develop. Leave a review and let me know what you thought!<strong>

**-Ophelia**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I joined a collaborative fic that's a Marvel/Hunger Games crossover- y'all should go check it out once you finish this chapter! The prologue is up and there are a lot of really talented writers involved! ****s/11012470/1/In-the-End-You-Always-Kneel**

**Here's the rescue I've been holding out on and a little angsty fluffy stuff.**

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><p>It was lucky for the mutants that Magneto had been aware of the man's motions and not focused on something else. As the man flicked his hand, Magneto raised his, fingers splayed. Bullets flashed and exploded yards from the X-Men, not one reaching its target.<p>

Wolverine, in typical Wolverine fashion, had readied himself to attack the soldiers in the event that Magneto let the gunfire reach them. He seemed to be on their side, but Logan still had issues with him and wasn't ready to trust him quite yet. Charles saw something in him. What that was, he didn't know, but it was enough for Charles. The New Mutants recovered quickly, powering up and beginning attacks toward the MRD- except Sam. Sam was still crouched near the fallen teens, a panicked expression on his face.

"Cannonball!" Logan barked.

"I can't get the collars off!" Sam yelled. He held up a hand covered in little red burns. "They shocked me when I tried!"

"I'll take care of them! Go help your teammates!" Logan growled. He knelt down next to the Sam's brother and the girl, extending a single claw with a /snikt/. He grabbed the collar around the boy's neck, wincing at the current that rippled along his arm. With two precise movements, he sliced the collar in half and setting the boy gently back to the ground before turning to the girl and doing the same. Both mutants were pale. The rise and fall of their chests was small and uneven, hitched breaths escaping their mouths. Logan rose from his kneeling position, turning back to the small battle raging behind him. Narrowed eyes quickly took in the situation, every detail registered and analyzed.

The New Mutants were holding their own quite well. Most of the soldiers were incapacitated in some way or another, whether encased in blocks of ice, stuck in melted pavement, or just plain knocked out.

The man in the suit, however, was nowhere to be seen. Wolverine took a deep sniff. The smells of expensive cologne and deep contempt lingered, but were no longer fully there. He let out a quiet growl and turned toward the facility's nearest door.

"Not now, Logan," said the professor quietly from behind him. Logan turned around. The professor had wheeled his chair up to the unconscious children and was checking them over. Or the unconscious child, anyway- Sam's brother was stirring.

"Jay!" All the kids were running over, with Sam leading the charge. Magneto strode behind them. Sam skidded to a halt, dropping to his knees and helping his brother sit up. The redhead coughed. Sam pulled him into a gentle hug, arms snaking under the younger boy's wings.

"Professor, is that who we were looking for?" asked Roberto, nodding at the girl lying near Jay. The professor nodded.

"Yes. Now come, we ought to leave before reinforcements are called." Logan gently scooped up the girl. Jay looped an arm around Sam's shoulder and the blond pulled him to his feet.

"How did you end up here?" Sam asked as they began trudging toward the hole in the wall where the gate had been.

"Long story," murmured Jay.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Xavier pulled out of Jay's mind. The boy shook himself slightly, freeing himself from the slight daze that the professor knew often followed a mental visit.

"Thank you for the images, Jay. I have no doubt you could tell us about the facility but this ensures I have every detail you saw. There may be something important that you don't realize is so." The boy nodded. His wings fluttered distractedly.

"Maybe Meredith has somethin' too. You could check her." The professor nodded once.

"Later, though. The child has experienced much physical and mental strain in the last day. It would be wise to let her rest." The professor paused. "You ought to return to the infirmary and rest as well." The boy began to protest.

"Aw, Professor, I feel fine. Really." Jay held out his arms, displaying skin unmarred by bruises and cuts. "Look. That Logan guy said I probably have a healing factor, like him. An' Mr. McCoy said I 'look the picture of health' after he checked us over."

Xavier smiled. "I have no doubt that you are physically well. But it would still do you well to take it easy for a while. I know your brother would agree." Jay scowled, though there was no real anger behind it.

"Yeah, he's probably right. Ma would probably want me to rest too."

Jay left the room, his wings unfurling from their neatly tucked position behind his back. As he wandered back towards the infirmary, he jumped, flapping his wings once, and smacked the high ceiling with the palm of his hand. He felt euphoric. He had seen what had happened when Sam's powers had shown up- the prejudice and hatred that had surrounded the family. But here...

Sam continued jump-flapping down the hallways, making it to the bottom of a flight of stairs without setting foot on a single step. The hallways changed from elegant to stern and metallic as he descended below ground level. Soft light came through the glass wall that separated the infirmary from the hallway .Jay took one more leap, going for distance rather than height, and landed in front of the infirmary door.

"Hey, Meredith, are..." Jay trailed off as he took in what lay before him.

Meredith had awoken while he was gone. She was sitting hunched in her bed, knees pulled close to her chest, hands clamped over her ears. Her eyes were squeezed shut as though she was in pain, and shiny tear tracks traced down her face. Jay hurried over, and reached for her wrists. His hands closed around them, she let out a shriek, and a screaming high trill blasted from her fingertips. Jay staggered backwards, clapping hands over his own ears.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Everywhere Meredith turned, there were strangers pointing and shrieking at her._

"_Freak!_"

"_Get lost, mutie!_"

"_No one wants you here!_"

_She turned in desperate circles, trying to find a way out of the mob spewing vitriol. Out of the blue, she came face-to-face with her mother, father, and brother._

_"Mom! Dad!" She gasped, reaching out for her parents. As her hands drew near, her family began receding from her grasp. Their faces were cold and unforgiving._

_"You can't come home. You don't belong here anymore," said her father sternly._

_"No, please, no one will know! I can hide it! I can stop it!" Meredith cried, running after her vanishing family. As she closed her fingers around her mother's arm, it faded away, along with the jeering crowd,and she was left alone._

_"No," she whispered, dropping to her knees. The echoes of the crowd's hate still rang around her. Instead of fading, it grew louder and louder, blending into a cacophony of musical noises._

Meredith started awake, the noise still growing in her ears. Her eyes darted around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She remembered little after the initial chaos in the courtyard of the MRD facility, and came to the conclusion that she'd been taken prisoner again. She let out a sob and clamped her hands over her ears and shut her eyes, thinking of the white noise that came out of a radio when you tuned it between stations. The noise filled her head, muffling the symphony playing at full volume.

When someone grabbed her wrists, she was back on the streets of her town as an unfamiliar man pressed his body close. Her new abilities reacted faster than she could. An ear-splitting trill broke through the static and the hands on her wrists came loose. She buried her hands in the blankets, fisting them in the sheet, clutching the material like a lifeline until the sound died away. The sound of someone's heavy breathing replaced the noise. Meredith opened her eyes. Jay was kneeling on the floor with his hands pressed to his ears, mirroring her recent pose.

"Jay?" she asked hesitantly. The redhead removed his hands from his ears. A scarlet droplet glistened on one of his palms and its twin dripped down his earlobe. "Oh god, Jay, I'm so sorry! I didn't try- it- it just happened, I'm sorry!" She scrambled off the bed, landing to kneel next to the boy. Jay placed his hands on her shoulders. She could feel their warmth through the thin linen shirt she wore.

"Hey, hey, I'm fine, I promise. See?" He tipped his head to the side, revealing no new blood trickling from his ear. A troubled look crossed his face. "Are _you_ all right?" Meredith opened her mouth to speak, then gave a tiny nod.

"I just- I- I jus-" Her chest was tightening and her breaths were coming shorter and shorter, turning into painful wheezes. She closed her eyes as tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. Jay's wings flapped in agitation.

"Hey...hey, it's okay! Everything's going to be all right!" Jay heard heavy footsteps trotting toward them and looked up to see Logan hurrying down the aisle.

"What's going on, kid?"

"I don't know, we were talking, and I think everything that's been happening just kind of caught up to her or something!" Logan knelt next to Meredith. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her arm darted up and latched onto the material of his jacket sleeve. Watery, panicked grayish eyes locked onto his blue ones.

"Kid, you're havin' a panic attack. It's nothing be afraid of. I need to you relax your shoulders and breathe on my counts, okay?" Meredith lowered shaking shoulders. "Okay...in...out. Nice and slow. In...out." As Jay watched, Meredith's breathing slowed back to a near-normal rate, her eyes never leaving Logan's face. Her tremors stopped and color returned to her cheeks. Finally, she released her grip on Logan's sleeve and slumped back against the side of the bed behind her. She wrapped her hands around her neck, her fingertips touching just under her hairline. As she did so, Jay's eyes caught the angry red marks circling her neck and wrists. Meredith pulled her legs up and rested her elbows on her knees.

"You doin' all right, kid?" Logan asked. Jay was struck by the two radically different sides of the man he'd now seen. He was a monster on the battlefield- tough, vicious and ruthless, someone you wouldn't want to get within fifty yards of. Yet, here he was, comforting a girl he'd never met as easily as if he was her father, and that side of him fit just as smoothly as when he was Wolverine.

In response to his question, Meredith nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Thanks..." She trailed off, waiting for someone to supply the unfamiliar man's name.

"I'm Logan," said the man.

"He's one of the teachers here," added Jay, sitting back on his haunches. Meredith's forehead wrinkles as she frowned.

"Where is 'here?' What is this place?"

Jay grinned. "Feel up for a tour?"

* * *

><p><strong>If you liked this, let me know! It really does mean the world to me to hear what you think!<strong>

**-Ophelia**


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